Ira Gershwin

Carmen Anthony Vacalebre had already established a successful fast-food business in the 1970s and 1980s with his Me Ma and Arby's franchises. But he wanted to step it up by opening a New York City-style steakhouse, the kind he liked to frequent.

He wanted a place that would rate up there with such red-meat restaurant icons as Del Friscos, Lugers, Keens and Sparks — clubby, intimate eateries with great wines and even better steaks. Every day he passed a Ponderosa Steakhouse at 496 Chase Ave., a few blocks from his Waterbury office. When the place closed in the mid '90s, Vacalebre decided to make his business dream come true.

Related "Ira Gershwin" Articles

Carmen Anthony Vacalebre had already established a successful fast-food business in the 1970s and 1980s with his Me Ma and Arby's franchises. But he wanted to step it up by opening a New York City-style steakhouse, the kind he liked to frequent.
He...